Robin Hobbs Liveship trilogy and Rainwild Chronicles spring to mind. John Wyndhams Outward Urge follows a family through the generations (but its a while since I read it)Thursday Next in Jasper Ffordes series has the family as main characters.

Surely the reason it doesn't work is the simple fact that they aren't central to the plot, they are important parts of the between frames moments. However in comics, particularly marvel there are several family situations, Reed and Sue Richards + Johnny Storm, Storm & Black Panther, Wolverine & his son Daken to name a few.

If you can fill the unforgiving minute,With sixty seconds worth of distance run,Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,And - which is more - you'll be a man my son.

Tonyblack wrote:Sticking with the Crime/Mystery genre - nearly all the best loved sleuths are single as far as I can tell. I think it over complicates plots if the writer has to be thinking - what's the wife doing?

A couple of crime fighting, albeit unconventional, family men I like a lot are Alex Cross & Kurt Wallander.

I don't think families over complicate a plot. Without the author having to actually write very much they can add a kind of pervading uneasiness to a series which keeps you on edge. It all stands and falls on how much you care for the crime fighter of course.

Being a loner fighting crime adds a kind nothing-to-lose, dangerous quality to a character that is appealing. For example, when Miss Marple gets out the knitting you know some heavy sh*t is about to go down .